State's 2nd bird breeding atlas to begin, span 5 years

Published 1:23 pm, Friday, December 11, 2015

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — State and federal officials have partnered with the University of Rhode Island over five years to map how birds are distributed in the state.

Rhode Island Public Radio reports (http://bit.ly/1Y83RX3 ) the data will be part of the state's second bird breeding atlas. The first was produced in the late 1980s.

Project manager Charles Clarkson says the project, spanning from 2016 to 2020, will show how bird populations have since changed. Data will indicate how the climate has either helped or hindered breeding.

Clarkson says the bird atlas will build on the first one by tracking migrating winter birds. He hopes to recruit more than 100 volunteers who will record their observations of breeding in numerous habitats.

A kickoff meeting to introduce the project is scheduled for Saturday.

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